Beavers Welch named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week

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WALNUT CREEK, Calif. – Oregon State sophomore linebacker D.J. Welch, who helped key the Beavers’ win over then-No. 13 Wisconsin Saturday, has been named the Pac-12 Conference’s Defensive Player of the Week, the league announced on Monday.

Welch, a native of Palm Desert, Calif., set a career-high with seven tackles while making his first career start. Two of those tackles went for loss (minus-8) as he and the Beavers’ defense limited the Badgers to just 207 yards of total offense, including 35 on the ground.

Oregon State snapped Wisconsin running back Montee Ball’s touchdown streak at 21 games and ended the Badgers’ regular season non-conference winning streak at 33 games.

Welch’s honor is the Beavers’ first of the season and is the team’s first defensive player of the week award since Scott Crichton on Oct. 24 of last season.

The Beavers have a bye this week and will next take the field on Sept. 22 when visiting UCLA. That game, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., is slated for a 12:30 p.m. PT kickoff and can be seen live on ABC on the West Coast and ESPN2 in the rest of the country.